Bankers Trust New York Corp., which completed its acquisition of Baltimore-based Alex. Brown Inc. on Sept. 1, was rumored this week to be in negotiations with Travelers Group Inc., a New York-based diversified financial company.

Its stock soared as much as 13 percent on Thursday before closing at a high of $124, up $5.68 a share.

But Bankers Trust officials said Thursday that the company is not in merger talks with any firm.

Typically, rumors that one company is in merger talks spur the stocks of other financial services firms.

Shares of Legg Mason Inc., however, fell $1.50 yesterday to $65.312.

Some observers believe that Price would make a great acquisition. It is highly profitable, is among the country's 20 largest mutual fund companies with $120 billion in assets under management, and is successfully building a business that manages 401(k) plans for companies.

"T. Rowe Price is a premier asset manager and would be a real jewel in someone's crown," Bruce Brewington, an analyst at San Francisco-based Putnam, Lovell & Thornton, told Bloomberg News.